Dehydrating press



Oct. 5, 1943. E. G. LOOMIS 2,331,126 DEHYDRATING PRESS I Filed May 14, 1942 IN V EN TOR.

[varies Zooma's HTTOIP/VEY Patented Oct. 5, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DEHYDRATING PRESS Evarts G. Loomls, Newark, NJ. Application May 14, 1942, Serial Not 442,897 6 Claims. (01. 34-70) This invention relates to dehydrating presses, and more particularly to those in which an excess of a liquid may first be removed from the material under treatment, and then another liquid is caused to percolate through the material and then the latter liquid is pressed out of the material. An example of such type of press will be found in my Patent No. 2,221,806, dated November 19, 1940. Since one of the materials used in a press of this character is nitro-cellulose and possibly other highly explosive substances, an object of the invention is to provide a press in which the safety factor is greatly stressed so that the possibility of damage to both the press and the operators of the same is rendered unlikely.

Another object of the invention is to provide a press having a minimum of parts, yet of substantial construction, and in which a single cylinder and piston is employed both for exerting the hydraulic pressure and for the compression of the material.

Another object of the-invention is to provide a cylinder for compression of the material in which one end is closed by a closure member held in position in such a manner as to enable it to be displaced or expelled by the imposition of undue stress, such as by an explosion in the cylinder, and caused to be ejected below floor level Where its expulsion can do little or no damage. I

A stillfurther object of the invention is to provide a novel means by which the liquid, such as alcohol, is delivered into the cylinder and caused to percolate through the material being compressed therein.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the description hereinafter set forth and more particularly pointed out in the claims'appended hereto.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part hereof, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a press constructed in accordance with the invention, with the parts of the press in position ready for the loading operation; Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the material being compressed; and Fig. 3 is a sectional view through a portion of the piston, showing means by which liquids passing the piston packings may be conveyed away from the press.

In the drawing I indicates the base member of the press, the same being preferably disposed below the floor level indicated at 2. The cylinder in which the material is adapted to be compressed is shown at 3, the same being preferably formed integral with the base I. a The top, or open end of the cylinder is provided with an overflow gutter or flange 4, and the bottom or lower end of the cylinder is closed by a disk closure member 5 preferably secured in place by any suitable means permitting release of the closure member under extraordinary stress, an example of said means being a plurality of grub screws 6. The grub screws 6 are deeply recessed, as indicated at 1 so that the same are capable of relatively easy collapse or rupture under excess strain, such' as byan explosion occurring in the cylinder, in which event the bottom clo sure or disk 5 will be expelled from the bottom of the cylinder and, since this portion of the press is located below floor level and generally above a. sand pit or the like, little, if any, damage will be done to the press and none to the operators thereof.

At 8 is shown the piston which is reciprocated in the cylinder 3, the piston being provided with packings 9 and In (Fig. 3) as well as with a seepage ring l l. The latter ring is formed with a plurality of passages I! communicating with an inner groove l3 that connects with one or more passages l4 extending radially through the piston and have their inner ends communicating with the upper end of the bore l5 of a vertically disposed tubular shaft I 6 secured to and carried by the piston. -The arrangement just described is such that when leakage of alcohol or other fluid past the packings 9 and I0 occurs, the fluid will'pass through the passages l2 in the ring H and from thence through passages M in the piston and out through the bore in the shaft l6 and finally out through'flexible tube ll. The flexible tube l1 may be connected to a suitable gauge glass so that the amount of leakage can be determined and the packings renewedewhen' necessary. 1mm.

Extending through the bore [5 of the shaftilfi is a pipe l8, the upper end ofwhich extends to the top of the piston 8. and to a position below a perforated distributor plate l9 secured to the top of the piston. The distributor plate is formed with a plurality of spaced holes Zlland-has its under face grooved as indicated at 2|, this com bination of grooves 2i and holes 20 causing the alcohol or other liquid, delivered through the pipe l8 to be distributed through the material contained within the cylinder. 'A screen 22 *is preferably disposed on top of the distributor plate [9 in me cylinder. At its lower end the pipe I8 is connected by a coupling 23 to flexible tubing 24 leading from a source of fluid supplied under pressure. By a suitable arrangement of valves and piping, an example of which is disclosed in my Patent No. 2,221,808, the pipe 13 may be employed for both the delivery or alcohol or other fluid into the cylinder as well as for the drainage of such material therefrom.

The piston 3 is elevated in the cylinder 3 by means of hydraulic pressure delivered into the cylinder 3 below the piston 3 through passage 25 connected to the pipe 26 leading from a source of hydraulic supply, so that it will be obvious that when the hydraulic pressure enters cylinder 3 and is operative against the under side of the piston 3, it will elevate the piston until the ad- Justable stop 21 provided on shaft 13 impinges against the bottom of the cylinder as shown in Fig. 2. The stop 21 is adjustable on the threaded portion 23 of the shaft 16 and may be fixed in any selected position thereon by means of the set screw 23 to thereby regulate the extent of rising movement of piston 3.

Rising from the base I are several supporting posts 33 which support at their upper ends, an upper cylinder 3| in which a piston or ram to which the closure or cover member for the cylinder 3 is attached, is raised and lowered. The closure or cover member 33 is secured to a piston or ram 32 movable within the upper cylinder 3|. The closure or cover member 33 is secured to the piston portion 32 by means of the screws 34. The shape of the head 33 is such that when in its lowered position, as indicated in Fig. 2, the marginal portion 35 of said head will be brought to rest on the top edge 36 of the cylinder 3. When the cover member 33 has descended to close the top of the cylinder 3, a periorated plate 31 carried by it, will enter the cylinder slightly, and the screen 33 located over the perforated plate 31 will be broughtinto contact with the top of the material 39 when it is being compressed in the cylinder 3.

When the material is being compressed, as shown in Fig. 2, the alcohol or other fluid in the material, forced through the compressed.

material, is withdrawn from the cylinder by means of suction exerted through the cover member 33, through the screen 38 and perforated plate 31, said suction being exerted through a central passage 40 in the head 33 and through the radial passage 41 extending through the body of the closure member 33 and connected to a tube or pipe 42 extending from a suction exerting pump or the like.

The top of the upper cylinder 3| is closed by a suitable closure head 43 held in position by a plurality of grub screws 44. The closure head 43 is formed with an opening 45 through which hydraulic pressure is delivered into the cylinder 31 to cause the piston 32 to descend to its lowermost-position, and close the upper end of the cylinder 3. A pipe or tube 48 extending from a source of hydraulic supply connects to the passage 45. The piston 32 is elevated in the cylinder 3| by means of hydraulic means, not shown, since the same may be similar to that disclosed in my Patent No. 2,221,806.

From the foregoing, the operation of the device will be readily understood. The press is shown in its empty and inoperative position in Fig. 1 wherein the piston 8 rests upon the bottom member or disk 5, and when in this position the interior of the cylinder 3 is first filled with moist or damp material, such as nitrated linters that have generally been' drained, centrifuged or otherwise treated. after having been washed, to remove the excess water from this material. After the cylinder 3 has been filled with the material, hydraulic pressure is caused to enter through passage 45 into the cylinder 31 to cause the hydraulic ram or piston 32 to descend and bring the closure member 33 to rest on top of the cylinder 3, as shown in Fig. 2. Hydraulic pressure is then caused to flow through passage 25 so that the piston 8 is then elevated and the material shown at 33 is compressed with relatively light pressure between the piston 8 and the closure head 33. The flow of alcohol or other fluid through pipe 13 is then started so that the alcohol, forced under pressure through pipe 13, will pass up through the distributor plate 19 and screen 22 and be forced up through the material 39, and be percolated upwardly through the material to saturate the same. As the alcohol rises, it comes into contact with screen 31 and is drawn through the same and through the perforated plate 33 out through passages 40 and 41 and pipe 42 to a point where it is recovered. After this percolation is carried out to the desired extent, the supply of alcohol through pipe [8 may be then shut off and the piston 3 raised to a further extent to compress the alcoholsoaked material and remove surplus alcohol from 32 isthen raised to the position shown in Fig. 1 by suitable hydraulic means, not shown, but similar to that shown in my Patent No. 2,221,806, and the block of compressed material, which is ejected from material cylinder 3 by further upward motion of piston 8, is then removed. The piston 3 can then descend by gravity upon release of the hydraulic pressure below the same.

What-I claim is:

1. In a dehydrating press of the character described, a cylinder, a piston mounted therein, a bottom on the cylinder, a tube secured to the piston and carried thereby, said tube extending through the bottom, means for applying hydraulic pressure in the cylinder and below the piston to thereby elevate the piston and the tube, means for supplying fluid under pressure through the it. The ram or piston tube, and means on the top portion of the piston for distributing the fluid so supplied.

2. In a dehydrating press of the character described and particularly adapted for explosive materials, a cylinder, a piston mounted therein, a bottom on the cylinder, a tube secured to the piston and carried thereby, said tube extending through the bottom, means for applying hydraulic pressure in the cylinderand below the piston to thereby elevate the piston and the tube, means for supplying fluid under pressure through the tube, means on the top portion of the piston for distributing the fluid so supplied, means for attaching the bottom in place at the lower end of the cylinder, said means comprising elements incapable of resisting extraordinary stress such as an accidental explosion in the cylinder whereby the bottom may be readily dislodged by the same.

3. In a dehydrating press of the character described, a vertically disposed cylinder, a piston mounted for reciprocation therein, a tubular shaft secured to and carried by the piston, a passage through said shaft connected to a source of liquid under pressure, one end of the shaft opening at the top of the piston, a perforated distributor plate on top of the piston and extending over the open end of the shaft, and an opening leading into the cylinder below the piston through 'a,ss1,1se

to be compressed, a

hydraulic ram mounted above the top of the cylinder and carrying a closure member adapted to be brought down to rest on the top of the cylinder to close the same, a piston mounted for reciproeating movement in the cylinder, a passage into the cylinder below the piston for the delivery of hydraulic pressure into the cylinder, a tubular shaft carried by the piston and extending out of the cylinder, a passage through said shaft connected to a source of liquid under pressure, one

end of said shaft opening at the top of the piston,

and a perforated distributor plate on top of the piston and extending over the open end of the shaft.

5. In a dehydrating press, a cylinder, a. piston mounted for reciprocating movement therein, a tubular shaft extending through the piston and movable with the same, a seepage ring extending around the piston, and radial passages extending through the piston and communicating at one through the connected radial ,into the interior of the tubular shaft.

end with the ring and at the other end with the tubular shaft whereby seepage of liquid around the piston will pass through the ring and passages and pass 6. In a dehydrating press, a cylinder, a piston mounted for vertical reciprocation therein, a tubular'shaft secured to and carried by the piston, a bottom in the cylinder through which said shaft extends, concentrically arranged passages extending through the shaft, one of said passages comprising a liquid-feed passage and opening at the top of the piston, the piston having a radial 1 passage extending through it, said radial passage having one end communicating with one end of another of the concentric passages ex-,

tending through the shaft, a seepage collection ring extending around the piston, the second end of the radial passage communicating with said ring, whereby seepage collected by said ring will pass through the radial passage and into said last mentioned concentric passage in the tubular shaft. EVARTS G. LOOMIS 

